Soporific
by sanctum-c
Summary: Tiz has had trouble sleeping since they met; Ringabel uses the Salve Maker asterisk in an attempt to help.


Ever since the first night their little group set up camp, Ringabel noticed Tiz had trouble sleeping. The shepherd was reluctant to speak about what caused him to wake with a start in the middle of the night and Ringabel was not about to pry. When he was on watch he kept an eye on Tiz, waiting for the moment he gasped something almost inaudible and sat upright. The first few times Ringabel asked if the shepherd was okay and Tiz insisted he was as he strained to keep his eyes open. He fell back asleep soon enough though it never lasted; he would wake again in less than an hour. Tiz hid his exhaustion well enough, forcing himself to drink coffee each morning. Their time with Egil nullified some of the problems, Tiz sleeping much easier while they looked after the orphan. Yet once Egil was with Karl in Caldisla the pattern of sleeplessness soon returned.

After they defeated Qada, Ringabel began speculating about a concoction to help Tiz sleep. There were all manner of natural remedies and supposed soporifics, but nothing gave Tiz a good night's sleep. Qada, though monstrous in his actions, was a talented chemist. Who better to turn to for a chemical cure? Ringabel began using the Salve Maker asterisk as much as he could, pouring his thoughts into it as he extracted its secrets. The knowledge within was vast and complex. It seemed doubtful the man could have attained so much knowledge in his lifetime. Well, maybe not. Formulas to slow the aging process and life-extending potions were among the recipes. But if, as he suspected, Qada had not concocted them, then where had they come from?

What were the asterisks? To his knowledge not one of them had altered any of the gems since gaining them, and skills within were not transferable. Each had to spend time and effort to harness the powers, each starting from scratch. Who had made them and how? None of the bearers seemed to fit with his notion of what such an engineer would be like. Maybe they would learn more in Eternia.

No one else was curious about Qada's asterisk and were happy to leave Ringabel alone to plumb its secrets. Here was a potent pain-killer capable of deadening the worst pain. Here was an anesthetic that would leave the rest of the body untouched but numb an extremity. Ringabel settled on a few component methods. One was capable of inducing unconsciousness for set time-frames, contingent on the subject's weight. This seemed troublesome to figure out, visions of old and vague maths lessons leading him to ideas of marking water levels on a bath. To his relief, Tiz knew his own weight, commenting it was more or less unchanged despite the drastic changes to his diet.

Ringabel mixed the potion as the asterisk directed, producing a pink, sweet-smelling, viscous fluid. Not wishing to embarrass Tiz, he pushed a vial of it into his hands, urging him to drink it before he slept. Tiz acted surprised at the offer, but it took only a little coaxing for him to hang onto the vial. The next morning he looked refreshed and well rested. In a quiet voice he reported a dreamless sleep that passed before he knew it. He declined Ringabel's offer of another vial, certain he would sleep okay.

Tiz took him to one side the next morning, desperate for more of the same dreamless sleep. And so it went, Ringabel mixing vials for Tiz who now slept through the night. Well, almost through the night. It was gradual but each night Tiz slept for a fraction shorter than the night before. The shepherd brought it up to Ringabel when he was dropping an hour of sleep. The only solution Ringabel was able to hit on was a slight increase in potency to match. It seemed to do the trick.

Their journey wore on, Ringabel learning both Agnes and Edea were also having trouble sleeping. He prepared vials for both; Edea asking for help with Agnes in the long aftermath of Olivia's death. The Eternian asked for a vial herself after wounding her father. Ringabel wondered how long they should consume the substance. The shivers and fidgeting as evening wore on troubled him, as did the almost eagerness to turn in for sleep. Were they sleeping less well even with the potion? Tiz never seemed as rested as he had at first and nothing seemed to faze Agnes now, no matter how things went. Even entering the Holy Pillar to find themselves in another Luxendarc seemed only a passing worry to her.

Ringabel was not going to use the potions. He tried to withhold them from the others, only to find them unable to sleep at all. The next day they were haggard, tired shades of their former selves trudging from place to place. The potions at least gave them the semblance of normality, even if they never seemed to be the same people he had begun this journey with. His reluctance to indulge suffered many knocks, but there at last came the moment he could no longer sleep unaided. Regaining his memories had once been his goal, but now seemed such a naive dream. If he had known what he had seen as Alternis Dim he would have been all too willing to remain an amnesiac. Memories were over-rated.

His last moments on the Grand Ship before he fell, finding the dead bodies of Agnes, of Tiz, of-. Of. Of Edea. Seeing that hideous other form of their murderer. He relived each sight as he closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on something, anything else. He broke his personal vow, imagining both Edea and Agnes naked, locked in passionate embraces with him. It made no difference and was discomforting in the cold light of morning. Nothing he could do dismissed the horrible memories. Even as exhaustion over-whelmed him, the fragmentary moments assailed him, jerking him awake. After three days he conceded defeat and mixed a fourth vial of the potion. As the others succumbed to chemical induced sleep, he waited longer fearing what sleep would bring. He stared at his own vial for long minutes before swigging the contents.


End file.
